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Influences Seen in Prokofiev's Piano Style

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Influences Seen in Prokofiev's Piano Style /91 INFLUENCES SEEN IN PROKOFIEV'S PIANO STYLE THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By Ronald Edwin Lewis, B. M. Denton, Texas June, 1970 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. .. iv Chapter I. PROKOFIEV'S RUSSIAN PREDECESSORS. , * . 1 II. THE FOUR PERIODS IN PROKOFIEV'S CREATIVE LIFE . 11 Childhood Youth Foreign Soviet III. PROKOFIEV'S PIANISM . 37 IV. CONCLUSION. 0 0 0 41 APPENDIX . 0 0 0 0 . 0 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 0 . 46 iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Moussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, ]Bydd gmeas. 1-4. ~~~~. 4 2. Prokofiev, Tales of the Old Grandmother, No. 3, meTasT- 37T-77 777 .~ . .6 .... 4 3. Scriabin's "Mystic Chord" . .. 8 4. Scriabin, Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, meas. 19-22 . 0 . 8 5. Rise, Thou Golden Sun Rise, arranged by =Imsk=-"?~o s akov ~7.~~~~~" . 6.a.0.0.4. 13 6. Prokofiev, Sonata No. 3, Op. 28, meas. 58-59 ~.~-. ~~~. 76 . .s.0 .6.a.*.0.a . 14 7. Prokofiev, Concerto N-._2., Op. 16, fourth movement, meas. 83-86 . ... 14 8. Comparison of themes, Prokofiev, Concerto No, 3, Op. 26, first movement, meas. T""wan T is.*.0.0.0.a.0.0.*.0.*.0.*.#.0 0 .0.0 . 15 9. Prokofiev, Little Sg No. 4, Series I. 16 10. Prokofiev, Little Sog No. 10, Series I 17 11. Schumann, Toccata, Op. 7, meas. 34-35 . 19 12. Prokofiev, Toccata, Op. 11, meas. 82-83 * . 20 13. Schumann, Toccata, Op. 7, meas. 254-255 . * 20 14. Prokofiev, Toccata, Op. 11, meas. 57-58 . 20 15. Prokofiev, Sarcasme No. 3, meas. 2-3. 21 16. Prokofiev, Sonata No. 2, Op. 14, meas. 1-2. , . 23 17. Prokofiev, Concerto No. 3, Op. 26, second movement, meas. 39-a0 . .. 23 18. Prokofiev, "Diabolic Suggestions," Op. 4, No. 4, meas. 27-28. .. 0 25 iv Figure Page 19. Prokofiev, "Diabolic Suggestions," Op. 4, No. 4, meas. 97-98. , . 25 20. Prokofiev, Concerto No. 3, Op. 26, third movement, meas. 170-171 . 26 21. Prokofiev, Sonata No. 5, Op. 38/153, first movement, meas. 82-83 . 29 V CHAPTER I PROKOFIEV'S RUSSIAN PREDECESSORS The influence of existing musical trends is evident in almost every composer. Prokofiev entered the musical scene in Russia when Scriabin was the recognized leader in innova- tion. To understand fully the rapid popularity of Prokofiev one must be aware of the musical forces of his time, the circumstances leading up to them and their influence on Prokofiev. In the latter half of the nineteenth century there began a movement toward nationalism in music. Among the most impor- tant of these nationalistic countries were Bohemia and Russia. Composers deliberately drew their inspiration from the musi- cal resources of their native country. From all that is known a native Russian music did not exist before the nineteenth century. The music enjoyed by the upper class and royalty had to be imported. In the eighteenth century this included Italian opera and in the beginning of the nineteenth century, French opera. Pianists such as Field, Mayer and von Henselt were popular as both teachers and performers. While other countries were being tapped as a source for art-music, an abundance of native folk music was rapidly 1 2 accumulating for use by future composers. The first com- poser to utilize this source was Michael Glinka (1804-1857), Glinka was trained as a pianist, but after his two works, A Life for the Czar and Russlan and Ludmilla, which utilized Russian folk themes, he became known as the "father of Russian opera." Glinka started the nationalistic move- ment in Russia that was later to be taken up by the "Russian Five." The roots of modern Russian composition lie in two schools founded in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The two Rubinstein brothers, Anton (1829-1894) and Nicolai (1835-1881), established conservatories in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Moscow Conservatory founded by Nicolai Rubinstein reflected the influence of the German romantic school and was considered the more conservative of the two. The St. Petersburg Conservatory founded by Anton Rubinstein followed more closely in the steps of Glinka in striving to establish a more nationalistic trend of new Russian music. The basis of their music was the heritage of Russian folk material. These two schools, the Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatories, represent the learning trends in Russia up to the October 1917 Revolution. Anton Rubinstein composed over two hundred individual piano pieces, in addition to numerous works in the larger forms. He was known mostly, to his own regret, for his virtuoso playing ability, Prokofiev's mother, an admirer of 3 Rubinstein, often played some of his pieces for the young Prokofiev. While a student Prokofiev studied and performed Rubinstein's concert Etude in C Major. The "Russian Five," Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Cui and Moussorgsky, exhibit the spirit of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Until the "Russian Five" little headway was made as far as serious piano composition was concerned. The "Five" drew their technique from the nineteenth century Ger- man school and the works of Beethoven, Schuman, Liszt and Berlioz, and sought inspiration from Russian folk music in an endeavor to create a national Russian music school. The first of the "Five" to produce piano music of real significance was Moussorgsky (1835-1881), "the greatest musi- cal genius of Russia." 1 Moussorgsky established himself as a true Russian composer with his Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), representing drawings and paintings of Victor Hart- mann. Copland calls Moussorgsky's work "the first really successful attempt to pull away from the German tradition."2 "Prokofiev had a special reverence for Moussorgsky, whom he admired above all as one of the greatest innovators, one who defied academic rules and blazed new trails." 3 Prokofiev often included in his concert programs Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. lPaul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization (New York, 1941), p. 948. 2 Aaron Copland, Our New Music (New York, 1941), p. 18. 3 Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev (Stanford, 1960), p. 464. 4 In looking at Prokofiev's Tales of the Old Grandmother (Op. 31), one can see the same vivid characterization that is reflected in Pictures at an Exhibition. Prokofiev could possibly have gotten inspiration from Bydlo for the third Tale, with its melody over a staccato bass accompaniment. Sempre moderato pesante. a . - . - I I a m ff-ff--JWTJLA WTILAI-4-TR - . I i . .At I TT w-M FOCO a poco crese. No- UL momNW momSi-mile Fig. 1--Bydlo from Moussorgsky's Pictures, meas. 1-4. Andante assai. Fig. 2--Third Tale, meas. 1-3 This connection can easily be traced to other of Pro- kofiev's works, either programmatic or non-programmatic. Included in these are Fugitive Visions, "Diabolic Sugges- tions" and sections of the concertos where the grotesque vein is akin to that of Baba Yaga of Moussorgsky's Pictures. 5 Prokofiev's biographer, Israel Nestyev, attributed these traits of Prokofiev's music to Moussorgsky: "What Prokofiev inherited from Moussorgsky was, above all, his gift for bold description, his interest in the typical and comic aspects of life." 4 There is some evidence that Moussorgsky did attempt the larger forms. He wrote some sonatas of which the manu- scripts have been lost, and an early Scherzo of 1858. The remaining part of his output for piano is character pieces and is not considered important. The remaining members of the "Russian Five" are less important than Moussorgsky as far as piano literature is concerned. Cui wrote very little piano music. Rimsky- Korsakov's Concerto in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, is his most important piano work and Borodin's collection of seven short pieces entitled Petite Suite (1875-1885) is his only work of any significance. Balakirev did some outstanding work in his oriental fantasy, Islamey (1869). The work is based on Cau- casian and Armenian melodies and is a display of technique borrowed from Liszt. Balakirev also wrote a Sonata in B- flat minor (1905) that makes use of Russian folk songs as themes. With the break in the "Russian Five," Rimsky-Korsakov became one of the leaders, along with Alexander Glazunov 4Ibid. 6 (1865-1936), of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Their direct influence can be seen in their students until Prokofiev. On the other side were the followers of the Moscow Conservatory, mainly Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninov and Scriabin. Sergei Taneyev (1865-1915) taught composition there. Taneyev exerted little influence on his students yet was one of the first to see promise in the young Prokofiev as a composer. Tchaikowsky (1840-1893) was a student of Anton Rubin- stein and graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1865. In 1866 he became professor of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory. His fame as a composer rests largely in his orchestral works, although he did write a great deal of piano music. Tchaikowsky's piano music is merely a con- tinuation of Rubinstein's style with some refinements. His fame in the field of piano literature rests largely in his B-flat minor concerto. Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) studied composition with Taneyev at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated at the same time as Scriabin. His expert knowledge of the keyboard is reflected in his music. Although Rachmaninov lived in the twentieth century, his music is a direct descendant of the western romanticism of Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Brahms. Despite his conservative tendencies, however, Rach- maninov has remained popular with. both listener and performer. 7 Controversies raged over his music even in his own lifetime.
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